Thursday

Oct 11, 2018 at 3:17 PM

Todd Haley ran to Anthony Lynn's side and later was told that what had just happened to Lynn is fatal '100 percent of the time.' Miraculously, Lynn lived. Years after they coached together with Bill Parcells, their teams collide in Cleveland.

BEREA Part of the way Todd Haley plays old school is taking "us vs. them" through the week and to the stadium. There, he makes it a point not to engage in pregame chit-chat with "them."

On Sunday, Haley will make an exception. The offensive coordinator of the Cleveland Browns will not pretend the head coach of the San Diego Chargers, Anthony Lynn, is not his brother.

He was there during the horror and recovery that made them "brothers for life."

In the summer of 2005, Cowboys training camp had just ended in Oxnard, Calif. Two buddies who were assistant coaches for Bill Parcells' Dallas offense went out for some pizza and some laughs.

Haley made his way across a street, saw that Lynn had not followed, and called for him to come along.

Lynn began to cross. A driver who later tested three times over the legal limit was roaring off an exit ramp and veered into Lynn.

"I heard a thud," Haley has said. "I turned around and saw Anthony just cartwheeling across the air. When I got to Anthony, I thought he was dead."

The initial impact was compounded by the landing. The force of a 200-pound man hurtling at high speed into a parked Volkswagen left the car totaled and Lynn in the street.

Lynn awoke to find Haley cradling his head with bloody hands. His first reaction was to wonder why Haley was bleeding. Lynn didn't realize the blood was from his head.

Lynn's survival was miraculous. Haley would talk to doctors who told him such impacts figure to be fatal 100 percent of the time.

Lynn has shared his recollection of lying on the pavement a number of times.

A close paraphrase: I will never forget, as long as I live, Todd holding my head up, saying, ‘Hang in there, buddy. Hang in there.’ I’m certain he thought I was dying, right there in the street.

Lynn arrived at the emergency room with part of his nose torn off, terrible cuts on his face, two collapsed lungs and assorted other issues.

Lynn recalls plastic surgeons doing "a really good job of covering up those scars and blending that stuff back in."

He cringes when he thinks of photographs of how he looked when he arrived at the hospital.

It was a two-part miracle. One, Lynn survived. Two, he was back working with Haley and Parcells within two weeks. His youth and fitness (he was an ex-NFL running back who stayed in shape) served him well.

In the immediate aftermath, Haley had a hard time shaking what he had witnessed. Haley would look at his friend and blurt out, "I can't believe you're alive." Lynn would say, "Dude, quit staring at me."

Lynn came around to thinking Haley, in a way, was more victim then he was. All Lynn remembers is headlights moments before impact. Haley had to absorb the whole thing.

Lynn was struck on Aug. 20, 2005. The drunk driver was sentenced to 300 days in jail and five years of probation. Haley and Lynn got on with their coaching lives.

They worked together with the Cowboys through the 2006 season, the last of Parcells' four seasons as head coach. In 2007, Lynn left for Cleveland; He was running backs coach for a team that wound up 10-6. Haley became offensive coordinator of the Cardinals, who had been a doormat, but suddenly became a contender. Haley's work landed him a head coaching job in Kansas City in 2009.

Lynn's shot at being a head coach came later. He had a long run as Rex Ryan's running backs coach with the Jets and jumped with Ryan to Buffalo, where he was a strong voice on an offense featuring Tyrod Taylor at quarterback.

While in Buffalo, Lynn paid his old friend a tremendous professional compliment.

"I don't think Todd has any idea how often I study his tape," Lynn said. "I think he is the best offensive coordinator in the game."

"That's nice of him to say," Haley said Thursday.

The Chargers hired Lynn as head coach in 2017, which became Haley's last season as offensive coordinator in Pittsburgh. The road leads to Cleveland, where the "brothers for life' will engage in a unique sibling rivalry.

"I just like to beat him," Haley said. "There won't be any hugs and kisses before the game.

"... Anthony and I are very good friends, very close. We had time together in Dallas and a couple of unique moments together.

"Somebody that I really care about."

Reach Steve at 330-580-8347 or

steve.doerschuk@cantonrep.com

On twitter: @sdoerschukREP

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